Fire protecting apparatus



July 11,1950 F. L. BOYD ETAL FIRE PROTECTING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 5 .INVENTOR.

FISHER L. BOYD BY LEWIS W- BOERNER ATTORNEY 1950 F. BOYD ETAL 2,514,439 FIRE PROTECTING APPARATUS Filed-March 22, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

FlSHER L- BOYD y LEWIS w. BOERNER XEW ZKJQMI-I ATTORNEY Patented July 11, 1950 2,514,439 FIRE PROTECTING APPARATUS Fisher L. Boyd and Lewis W. Boerner, Upper Darby, Pa., assignors to National Foam System, Inc., Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application March 22, 1947, Serial No. 736,478

4 Claims.

This invention relates generally to air foam fire extinguishing apparatus and more particularly to an improved construction of apparatus which is especially adapted to generate and deliver mechanically produced fire extinguishing foam for the protection of dip tanks, spray booths and the like wherein highly flammable materials have relatively large surface areas thereof exposed to atmosphere.

Among the principal objects of the present invention is to provide a simple and relatively inexpensive apparatus for mechanically producing fire extinguishin foam which is adapted to be readily installed in close proximity to the surface to be protected and which is operable tolgently apply over the surface of the flammable material a volume of foam adequate to quickly and effectively cover the entire surface of the burning material with a fire-smothering foam blanket, the apparatus being designed for operation under an extremely wide range of water pressure.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear more fully hereinafter, it being understood that the invention consists in the combination, construction, location and relative arrangement of parts as hereinafter described in detail, as shown in the accompanying drawlugs and as finally pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a 1 perspective view illustrating the application of the present invention to dip tank containing a highly flammable liquid to be protected against fire;

Figure 2 is an elevational View of the foam producing and delivery apparatus shown attached to one wall of the tank;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the apparatus shown in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional View of the foam producing apparatus as taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 55 of Figure 3; and

Figures 6 and 7 are transverse sectional views taken along the lines 86 and l--'I, respectively, of Figure 4.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, it will be observed that the apparatus of the present invention has been illustrated applied to a dip tank ID in which is stored the flammable liquid to be protected against fire. The apparatus for producing the fire extinguishing foam includes a nozzle body l l having, a central bore l2extending axially therethrough, one end of the nozzle body 2 being threadedly connected, as at 13, to a conduit Min communication with a suitable supply of water under pressure, the opposite end of the nozzle body being similarly connected, as at 15, to a short foam tube or conduit l 6.

Suitably mounted in the central bore I2 of the nozzle body H is an axially extending stem l1 fitted at its outer end with a frusto-conical deflector element l8 which coacts with the terminal end of the bore I2 to provide an outwardly flaring-annular opening is through which the water under pressure is discharged in the form of an outward- 1y divergent conical stream. The deflector element is and its stem l! is supported by a bar 20, extending diametrically of the nozzle body and secured to the rear end thereof by the screws 2 l2l. The generaldesign and arrangement of the deflector element I8 is shown and described in our copending application, Serial No. 649,698, filed February 23, 1946, now Patent No. 2,512,456, granted June 20, 1950, to which reference is herein made, in view of which further detailed description of the structure and function of said deflector element is believed to be unnecessary. Although we have shown the deflector I8 as a part of the nozzle body H, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the use of such deflector element for effecting dispersion of the stream as it is discharged from the nozzle body and that any other suitable means for this purpose may be employed, it being pointed out in-this connection that the primary function of the nozzle body is to effect high velocity discharge of the foam forming solution from the central bore l2 thereof in the form of a stream capable of entraining therein a maximum amount of air from atmosphere.

For the purpose of introducing the foam-forming material into the water stream as the latter traverses the nozzle bore, said bore is provided with a restricted portion 22 in direct coaxial communication with an enlarged portion 23. As the water stream passes through the bore of the nozzle at high velocity it induces a suction action in the region where it emerges from the restricted portion 22 of the bore, this suction action being utilized to draw into .the water stream -a suitable foam-forming agent by way of a lateral port .24 in communication with a pick-up tube 25 connected to a suitable supply of liquid foam-forming material preferably stored in acontainer 26,

as the latter is discharged fromthe discharge opening [9, the air entrainment being effected in the foam tube. In order to increase dispersion of the foam-forming agent in the water stream and at the same time provide for uniform entrainment of air throughout the stream of the foam-forming solution, a reticulated cone 3| is included in the 34, the upper and lower edges of this opening being defined, respectively, by outwardly extending flanges 35 and 36. The lower flange 35 is adapted to overlie the upper edge of the tank in to be protected, the foam chamber being provided at its opposite'sides with lugs Iii-31 to facilitate mounting of the chamber rigidly upon the tank by means of securing bolts 38-38.

It will be observed, as appears most clearly in Figure 5, that the foam chamber is of substantial depth and that the foam tube I5 is in communication with its lower half portion. Also, it will be noted that said lower portion of the chamber 32 is separated from its upper portion by a horizontally disposed perforated plate 39 coextensive in area with the horizontal area'of the 1 chamber, this plate 39 being disposed well below the discharge opening 33. This. perforatedplate 39' functions in a manner similar to that of the perforated cone 3'! in the foam tube H5 in that it serves as a baiile to spread the foam as it flows upwardly of the chamber from the foam inlet W (see Figure 5) toward the foam discharge opening. Thus, the baflie plate 33 serves to distributethe foam uniformly throughout the-interior of-the chamber above the baffle plate, in consequence of which a full volume of foam is continuously discharged from the full area of the discharge opening 33 of the foam chamber, the final discharge velocity of the foam being of such reduced order-as to insure its flow gently down theinternal surface of the dip tank wall onto the surface of the flammable liquid over which it spreads to provide a uniformly thick fire-smothering blanket.

If desired, depending upon the siz of the tank to be protected, additional fire protection units of the present invention may be installed upon a given tank. Thus, as shown in Figure 1, a pair of such units are respectively mounted upon opposite sides of the tank, both units being commonly connected to the same source of water supply by a common conduit 40 branching off, as at ll and 42, to'supply water under pressure to the inlet ends of each nozzle body ll.

"It will'beunderstood, of course, that the present invention is susceptible of various changes and modifications which may be made from time to time without departing from the general principles or real spirit of the present invention, and it is accordingly intended to claim the same broadly, as well as specifically, as indicated by-the appended claims. l I

What is claimed as new and useful-is:

1. Apparatus for delivering fire-extinguishing air foam to the exposed surface of a flammable material comprising a closely coupled air foam generator and an elongated horizontally disposed chamber for receiving the generated foam, said chamber being provided along one side thereof with afoam discharge opening extending substantially the full length of the chamber for lateral discharge of the foam from said chamber, means in said chamber for uniformly distributing the flow of the foam therethrough toward the discharge opening thereof and for maintaining said chamber constantly filled with foam delivered thereto by the foam generator, said foam discharge opening being so disposed relatively to the surface of the flammable material as to provide forgentle flow of the foam over the-surface of the flammable material, and a foam convey: ing conduit interconnecting said generator and said chamber, said conduit being in communication with atmosphere at the generator and being connected to said chamber at a point substantially below said foam discharge opening thereof;

2. In an apparatus of the character defined in claim 1 wherein said foam receiving chamber is generally in the form of a rectangular box, the

interior of which is sepaarted by a perforated plate into a pair of vertically spaced compart-' ments, the lower of said compartments receiving directly the foam delivered theretobythe foam generator and the upper of said compartments being provided with said foam discharge opening presenting toward the surface of the flammable material to be blanketed with foam.

3. Apparatus for delivering flre-extinguishing foam to an open tank or the like containing a flammable liquid comprising a foam maker and a chamber closely coupled therewith for receiving the foam, said chamber being of box-like form' having a pair of vertically spaced compartments separated from each other by a perforatedba'flie plate, the upper compartment being provided with a foam discharge opening of substantial depth extending lengthwise along the upper edge of the foam chamber and the lower compartment being connected to said foam maker by a relatively short foam conveying conduit open to atmosphere at the foam maker end thereof. I

4. In an apparatus for delivering fire eXtin' guishing foam to the exposed surface of a flammable material, in combination, ajet discharger for a foam-forming solution having bore extending axially therethrough and an annular recess coaxial with and separated from said bore, an inlet port for a liquid foam-forming agent-in communication with said bore for introducing said agent into a water stream flowing through said bore, an air inlet port in communication with said annular recess for entraining air into said foam-forming solution as it issues from the discharge opening of said bore, a foam tube connected to said jet discharger with its interiorcommonly in communication with said coaxial discharge openings of said bore and recess, and a foam chamber connected to the "discharge end of said foam tube, said chamber being provided with a foam discharge opening-of substantial area, said foam chamber including baffie means therein operative to uniformly distribute the flow of the foam through said chamber for full volume, low velocity discharge through said discharge opening whereby to effect gentle application thereof to the surface of the flammable material.

FISHER L. BOYD.

LEWIS W. BOERNER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Slater Aug. '7, 1917 Epps Mar. 11, 1919 Witter May 8, 1923 Moeller Oct. 29, 1929 Taylor July 7, 1931 Sammis May 9, 1939 Hamblin Dec. 19, 1939 'Iimpson May 28, 1940 Hoe June 4, 1940 

